What the hill dillio? And good stuff on VQR

     She did it. Hillary did what she needed to do for the party, for the ticket, for her die-hard supporters (except the freakishly obtuse PUMAs), for herself, and apparently for her marriage -- did you see Bill gettin' all gooey eyed while she talked? I think I lip-read him murmuring "I love you" several times. Sweet but icky. The impish Wonkette has this demure play-by-play.

     It may just be enough to eradicate from memory that haunting image of Sen. Mark Warner free-falling, in slow motion, from a player on the national stage to a second-rate pol who missed the opportunity to connect on the biggest stage he'll ever have. 

     Rob Saldin is blogging the convention for VQR and has some pithy first person perspective. I can't stomach attending writers' conferences, never mind national political rallies, so it's nice to be able to follow vicariously the intrepid into the fray through the system of tubes that is the Interwebs. Yay, VQR.

     Also at VQR is a spectacularly intimate, candid series of conversations with women soldiers, done by my friend Laura Browder. Together, the interviews (to me) present a first-hand skewering of this failed administration and its contempt for the lives, the toll on real human beings, of its draconian ideology.

     So, the score:

     Hillary - fabulous

     Warner - deflating

     Wonkette - so ladylike

     The DNC - turning it around

     VQR - substantial content

     Women vets - heroes

     Bush - perpetually SNAFU

I'd be embarrassed, but instead I'm just bored

     Mark Warner fan here. Did a ton for the Old Dominion, is charismatic (really!) in person and at moderate-sized rallies. 

     But I sense his limitations, and I've been shaking my head over the DNC's decision to have him give the keynote. After all, he's a "coalition" guy. King of compromise. Everyone settle down, play nice.

     Last thing the convention needs is Mr. Niceguy. And my God did he bomb tonight. 

     I mean, what the hell? Did no one tell him it's a Democratic gathering? Whose purpose is not to hypnotize but rather galvanize the base? 

     Why is he so tentatively toeing the middle? Do they not realize that the Appalachian "country folk" (invariably a pejorative uttered by pundits) aren't tuned in to this fucking snoozefest?

     No passion. No frenzy. No climax. 

     No way we're going to win over voters if we can't even keep ourselves awake and attentive.

     Come on, Hillary. Come on, Joe. Inject some juice into this thing. 

     M says he wants to see Bobby Kennedy, piss and vinegar, a real fight. It's not here. Not yet. 

     Come one, Hill. Come on, Joe. Come on, Barack. Earn it! 

     Chelsea 2020.